Projectile



Patented Aug. 22, 1944 UNETED STATS 2 Claims.

My invention relates to high explosive shells and is directed more particularly to obtaining relatively higher muzzle velocities and greater penetration for a projectile of a given calibre and with a given charge than is possible with shells of the usual type.

With the foregoing in view, an object of my invention is to provide novel rifiing for a tool steel projectile which has its periphery formed to fit closely into the rifiing of a gun.

A further object is to provide a tool steel projectile having its periphery formed with lands and grooves which are complementary of those of a gun whereby a close fit of the projectile in the gun is assured.

A further object is to provide a projectile having a conical point, lands and groove on the cylindrical part of the shell adapted to have a fit with lands and grooves of the rifling of a gun for firing the projectile, continuations of said lands and grooves on said points of the projectile having the same pitch as those on the cylindrical portion of the projectile and being formed to provide a drill on the conical point of the projectile.

A further object is to provide in a shell such as that last described, means for detachably connecting the conical point to the cylindrical body of the projectile.

A further object is to provide a projectile such as that last described wherein the lands on the body portion of the projectile are continued a short distance beyond the front end of the body and sharpened to provide cutting teeth for penetrating or digging into a sloping or convex surface.

A further object is to provide a projectile such as that last described wherein a collapsible conical point is detachably secured to the body of the projectile when the drill providing point is removed and the device is used against a sloping or convex surface,

A further object is to provide a projectile such as theat last described wherein the body of the projectile includes a pointed supplemental shell of smaller calibre inwardly of the toothed front edge to aid the penetration of the sloping or convex surface after the toothed front edge has weakened the same by gouging or chipping such surface.

A further object is to provide an explosive projectile wherein fuse means are provided which is actuated by contact with a target but which delays the explosion of the projectile until the same has penetrated the target a predetermined distance.

A further object is to provide an explosive projectile effective against aircraft or the like.

Other objects and advantages reside in'the particular form of my projectile and gun, combination and arrangement of the several parts thereof and in the particular mode of operationall of which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, upon reference to the drawing in connection with the following detailed description and appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation of the im proved projectile;

Figs. 2-6 inclusive are fragmentary horizontal sections taken on the lines Z- Z to 6-6 inclusive respectively of Fig. 1;

Fig. '7 is a longitudinal vertical section taken along the bottom of one groove of the projectile of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary transverse section through a gun barrel-of the invention and showing a projectile therein;

Fig. 9 is a view like Fig. 7 but showing a modified form of point for the projectile; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary vertical section showing a further modification.

Referring specifically to the drawing and more particularly to Figs, 1-8 inclusive, l0 designates the cylindrical body portion of theshell, the periphery of which is formed with a plurality of adjoining and inverted V-shaped ridges H which are arranged in slight spiral which corresponds in pitch to the rifling l2, l3 of the gun M. As shown in Fig. 8, the rifling of the gun It! comprises substantially inverted V-shaped lands l3 with V-shaped grooves 12 therebetween. In this connection it should be stated here that thepitch of the rifiing formy gun is substantially less than that which is used usually for a gun of like calibre. Thus, if the usual rifling for a gun of'a given calibre would make a complete turn around the inside of the barrel in a twenty-inch section of the barrel, my rifling would require a fortyinch section to make a complete turn. Moreover, it is to be understood that in each'instance my projectile is formed of hardened or tool steel to withstand the greater pressure which is necessarily generated by the close fit in the barrel of the gun It. Any suitable means-not shown, may be used to line up the rifiing on the shell and gun automatically when the shell is inserted in the barrel. As a result of the close fit in the gun barrel and because of the rifiing on the shell or projectile, my projectile has an extremely high muzzle velocity and a much higher speed of spin in flight whereby it not only has an increased penetrating power but it also is more accurate. Obviously, on account of the increased penetrating power lighter guns can be used in place of heavier guns with the same effect.

As is shown in Figs. 1-7, particularly Figs. 1-6, the rifling II of the body ID of the shell merges into rifling 2| on the conical 'point 20 of the shell. The rifling 2| of the point is progressive- 1y flattened and reduced in cross section as the tip is approached but retains the same pitch as the rifling I I of the shell body whereby the smooth flight is assured. Moreover, the rifling 2| of the point is formed to provide cutting ribs 2la in the nature of drill ribs at the frontal portion 7 of the point 20 (see Figs. 5 and 6). These cutting ribs assist the shell to penetrate armor and thereby increase the penetrating power of the shell. 1

A is clearly shown in Fig. 7, the front end of the l0 and the rear end of the point 28 are provided w'ith complementary frustro-conical portions l8 and 21 respectively. The extreme rear end of the point 20 is provided with an externally threaded stud-26 which threadedly engages the internal threads I! of'the shell body l0.' The point 20 is axially bored as at 22. The bore 22 mounts a contact detonator 23 at the tip. 'The detonator- '23 actuates a slow fuse 24 of any suitable form which includes a small charge of explosive which is designed to drive rearward- 1y a rod- 25 also carried in the bore 22. The rod 25 actuates any suitable detonator l6 which is carried within the hollow interior I5 of the shell body In. It is understood that the detonator l5 explodes the main explosive charge (not shown) of the shell. The slow fuse 24 is so designed that the main detonator [6 will not be actuated until the shell has penetrated a predetermined distance into the target. Obviously, the fuse 24 can be removed and afuseof a different speed inserted for different targetsde pending upon the amount of penetration desired before explosion and upon the character of the target.

In many instances, such as when the gun and shell are used with a flat trajectory against a sloping or convex tar-get or where used at a higher angle against a vertical surface, a pointed'shell hasa tendency'to glance-or ricochet off of the same. In such instances, it is desirable to use the projectile inthe manner of Figs. 9 and 10. In Fig. -9 the body Illis identical to that first describediexcept'that it may be longer or heavier to compensate for the omission of the point 20. Instead of the point 20, a collapsible point 39 is utilized'which has a diameter smaller than that of the body In and substantially equal to the diameter of the body taken from the floor of the grooves of the rifling H. The sole purpose of thepoint 'is to'provide a wind break and insu're'accuracy of fire; The point 30 is made only strong enough to withstand the wind pressure in flight and may be of. any suitable material. The frustro-conical rear end 3| of the point 30'fit's into the frustro-conical recess l8 of the body It] and the short threaded stud 32'engages the threads ill of the body. An inwardly directly and axially arranged stud 33 is formed at the. tip .of the point 3!) fixedly mounting in the bore. thereof by an suitable means the front end 34 era detonator actuating rod 35 which terminats adjacent the detonator ['6 of the shell body l0. As the point 30 collapses upon impact, the rod 35 moves rearwardly and actuates the detonator. By varying the distance between the rear end of the rod 35 and the detonator Hi, the explosion can be delayed as desired or made instantaneous.

As is shown in Figs, 1, 7 and 9, the forward ends of the rifling H of the body [0 extend forwardly of the edge thereof and are sharpened to points [9. Thus, when the rim of the body In engages the target at an angle the saw-toothed effect formed thereon digs into the same instead of glancing off as would be the case with a pointed shell. Not only that but the explosion following closely on the heels of the impact is rendered more effective by the preliminary gouging and weakening of the armor or other surface of the of the supplementary shell 50 is just inwardly 0f the plane defining saw-toothed rim of the body so that it doesnot engage the target until the said rim has actually dug into the same to some degree. With the rim already engaged, the point of the supplemental shell 50 willbe enabled to have a penetrating effect to assist the rim. Any suitable means for exploding the supplemental shell 50 may be provided. The supplemental shell may be more .or less loosely mounted within the body l0 so that the inertia'thereof will drive it forward upon impact of the body ID with the target. Y

The shells comprising the invention can be used to supplement each otheras where the concave point of the Fig. 9 form weakens the target to permit actual penetration thereof by shells of the Fig.1 form. At the, same time, the Fig. 10 form, to some extent at least, combines the forms of Figs. 1 and 9. 1

While 'Ihave shown and described what are thought now to be the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of other forms and expressions and that I do not limit myself to the precise structure shown except as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. A projectile for a gun, comprising a hardened steel body, rifling on the periphery of said body adapted to fit the rifling of a gun barrel, said rifling comprising V-shaped lands and grooves, said body having a substantially concave front end, said lands of said rifling being continued beyond the front edge of said body and formed to provide points a hardened steel point detachably connected to said body for selective use therewith, said point having rifling on the periphery thereof of the same pitch as that of said body, said rifling of the point being V-shaped at the rear end and merging with the rifling of said body, said rifling of said point being progressively reduced in size and progressively changed in form towards the front end of the point to provide drill ribs. I

2. A projectile for a gun, comprising a hardened steel body, rifling on the periphery of said body adapted to fit the rifling of a gun barrel, said rifling comprising lands and grooves, said body having a substantially concave front end,

identical to that of said body and merging therewith, said rifling of said point being progressively reduced in size and progressively changed in form towards the front end of said point to provide 5 drill ribs.

ELIAS STANLEY DIEI-IL. 

